Sliding wear behaviour of AZ31B magnesium alloy and nano-composite

AZ31B magnesium alloy and nano-composite were manufactured by hybrid casting process and hot extruded at 350°C. The sliding wear behaviour of alloy and nano-composite was estimated at room temperature using the standard pin-on-disc wear test equipment. The tests were conducted under a normal load of 10 N at different sliding speeds ranging from 0.60 to 1.2 m/s for distance up to 2000 m. The wear mechanisms of the worn out surface were studied using SEM analysis. The influence of test parameters on wear rate of the pins was established using a linear regression model statistically. Compared with the AZ31B magnesium alloy, the nano-composite shows lower wear rates due to higher hardness improvement caused by the reinforcement. The wear mechanism appears to be a mix-up of ploughing, rows of furrows, delamination and oxidation.